Turns out it's still a favorite and I've been keeping radishes, dill and lemons on hand just so I can satiate my cravings as often as needed. Half the time I leave out the smoked salmon and grapefruit, and go with crunchier vegetables such as celery, fennel and the aforementioned, radishes.

Its delicate spring colors will entice you, while its vibrant flavors win you for keeps. Perfect for brunch, a light lunch, or a dinner appetizer, this pretty salad is a great way to stretch smoked salmon and make raw vegetables the star of the meal.

Thursday, June 02, 2011

Restaurant reviews are something that went out the window a looong time ago around here. I posted a few at the beginning and then realized that I strongly disliked writing reviews. I just wanted to enjoy my meal, not sweat the poor lighting for photos and hour long write up upon my return home. Non merci.

Plus, with two little children added to our family, our restaurant outings have slowed to a crawl. It's not exactly like I stay on top of the local restaurant scene. And I don't pretend to.

This past weekend, however, offered the chance for a dinner out on the town - in humid Atlanta, Georgia. Danny and I were in town for a mini second honeymoon and the Blogher Food conference - of course we wanted to eat Atlanta while we had the opportunity.

You can read my full BHF'11 recap on Simple Bites -I had a marvelous time- but over here we're going to talk about dinner.

Danny & Shaina

The destination? Empire State South. A Canadian chef's modern take on Southern food, served up in style, with plenty of love.

ESS proudly considers itself a farm-to-table restaurant, which reminded me a lot of our own Toque! and the scads of in-house charcuterie bordered on Au Pied du Cochon's style.

Needless to say, I felt quite at home at Empire State South.

My dining companions? Eight fabulous rock-star food bloggers. You just may recognize a few names here: Alice & her husband Rob, Sandy, Carrie, Amanda, Tara, Jenny, Lori, Shaina.Along with Danny and I, we invaded the small-ish Empire State South and proceeded to ordered half the menu.

Thanks to Amanda, I've got food photos from the meal. I was too busy gabbing with the girls to work the camera and was happy to hand it over to the competent Amanda.

Amanda's first oyster! This ain't no New York cupcake - The girl is fearless.

There are no photos of desserts to speak of, save this one, snapped with my iPhone.

We ordered eight plates, but they disappeared so fast. I was sitting next to Amanda and I don't know anyone who loves sweets more that that girl!

I knew that if I wanted a fighting chance at tasting dessert, I had to put the camera down. And so I did.

Alice, myself, Amanda

We sampled:

Coconut Cream Pie, almond brittle,

Fried strawberry pie, pickled strawberry, buttermilk ice cream

Coke soft serve ice cream, peanut funnel cake (pictured above)

Grasshopper Terrine, candied chocolate mint

Shaina and I have since been fantasizing over the strawberry pies.I think she's going to have a recipe coming soon. Hopefully just in time for our strawberry season.

Shaina & Lori

Consensus? We loved Empire State South. The entire evening was surreal. Fantastic food. Brilliant company. Inspiring conversation. I think it lasted about three hours, and is definitely going in the books as one of my most memorable dining experiences.